Father and son ride for charity

A FATHER and son from Nettlebed cycled from London to Paris for charity.

A FATHER and son from Nettlebed cycled from London to Paris for charity.

Andrew Marlow, 53, and his son Jasper, 22, set off from Crystal Palace and arrived in the French capital less than four days later.

On the first day they rode 102 miles to Dover, where they stayed overnight before crossing the Channel and then cycled 70 miles from Calais to Abbeville.

From there they rode another 64 miles to Beauvais and then the final 50 miles to the Eiffel Tower.

They beat their fund-raising target of £3,000 for children‘s charity Barnardo‘s.

The pair rode as part of a group of about 80 cyclists, who were accompanied by a support vehicle.

Mr Marlow Snr, a property developer, said: “It went very well and we managed to complete it on schedule.

“It was just the two of us for most of the way because the group were all doing different speeds and were quite spread out.

“The first day was the hardest because there are lots of hills on the South Downs. I‘d never done more than 45 miles in a day before so it was quite an accomplishment. I was fine the day afterwards but really hit the wall on day three and I‘m grateful for the encouragement I had from the support team.

“The final leg through Paris was fantastic as we were escorted by a motorcade and everyone, even drivers, stopped to cheer us on.

“My thighs were aching afterwards and I was utterly shattered but in a good way.“